Chapter 542

“Third brother, Chulan, Baobao-jie.”

Early the next morning, Zhang Jie arrived at Naidu Tong Company to clock in for work.

Although his current strength and methods no longer required him to earn a living this way,

the simplest option was to visit scratch-off lottery shops and use his near-x-ray ability to win prizes,

he couldn’t guarantee big money, but tens of thousands of RMB were easily within reach.

Failing that, he could just buy some Bitcoin—right now, after a few years, was the eve of its explosive rise.

But compared to money, Zhang Jie found maintaining his original life trajectory far more pleasing.

In short, since receiving his divine advantage, he hadn’t become a “patriot,”

but he was clearly trending toward becoming a “fun-seeker”…

What about those lottery tickets, which specialize in small bets yielding huge wins, letting ordinary people achieve financial freedom with a single draw?

emmm…

That was a prize even rebirthers and seers couldn’t possibly win,

and Zhang Jie decided he’d rather not humiliate himself by trying.

“Ajie.”

Xu San nodded calmly at Zhang Jie.

Feng Baobao stared out the window at the scenery, seemingly lost in thought.

“Jie-ge, sit down.”

Zhang Chulan, however, beamed with enthusiasm and hurriedly pulled out a chair for Zhang Jie.

This display made even Xu San glance over in surprise—it was far too obsequious.

Zhang Chulan paid it no mind.

After witnessing Zhang Jie’s astonishing abilities last night, he realized:

This was a thigh—a leg so thick, even within the cultivation world, it was shockingly substantial!

He immediately decided to cling to this leg.

So what if he was obsequious?

After all, his grandfather had never passed on the Qi-Ti Yuanliu to him; otherwise, he’d have offered it to Zhang Jie.

Then he’d see whether the Quanxing sect and those other malicious parties lurking in the shadows,

drooling over the Qi-Ti Yuanliu, dared to move against Zhang Jie in person!

"You kid."

Knowing Zhang Chulan’s true nature, Zhang Jie shook his head but sat down anyway.

“Jie-ge, have some tea.”

The moment Zhang Jie’s buttocks touched the chair, Zhang Chulan instantly presented him with a steaming cup of tea.

“Third brother, Baobao-jie.”

Of course, Zhang Chulan also served hot tea to Xu San and Feng Baobao.

“Mm.”

Zhang Jie subtly nodded inwardly.

Flattery required skill—if Zhang Chulan had served tea only to him,

it would’ve seemed too sycophantic and might have offended Xu San and Feng Baobao.

Now that all three received tea, it merely showed he was enthusiastic.

“Hehe.”

Xu San, who had seen through Zhang Chulan’s intentions, smiled faintly but didn’t care.

Zhang Chulan was an orphan who’d spent years navigating the real world—being smooth was normal.

Feng Baobao remained lost in her own world, not even glancing at the tea Zhang Chulan served her.

Everyone knew her nature, so no one minded.

“Third brother, how does the company plan to handle Xia He and the others?”

Zhang Jie took a sip of tea and steered the conversation to the point.

“Xia He and Lu Liang are unquestionably Quanxing members; how to handle them follows established precedent—no need to overthink.

But that Miss Liu… she’s a problem.”

At this topic, Xu San rubbed his temples in exasperation.

Clearly, he’d lost sleep over this.

“Aren’t you saying Liu Yanyan is a Quanxing demon?”

This time, Zhang Chulan was stunned.

Based on last night’s experience, he’d assumed all three were allies—so there was an outsider?

“She’s not Quanxing. Take a look.”

Xu San didn’t waste words—he pulled several files from his desk drawer and handed them to Zhang Jie and the others.

Knowing Liu Yanyan’s background, Zhang Jie kept up his persona by taking the files and reading them.

“What? She’s the heir of the Xiangxi Liu family?

So those figures surrounding her last night were zombies!”

Zhang Chulan barely glanced at the files before nearly leaping three feet in the air.

Though he’d long accepted that a hidden cultivation world existed within ordinary society,

zombies were still too much for his fragile heart.

Now he recalled—the black-robed figures around Liu Yanyan had moved too stiffly,

too mechanically—nothing like the motions of living people.

“Precisely, she is the sole heir of the Xiangxi Liu family!”

Xu San corrected Zhang Chulan’s error.

Hearing this, Zhang Chulan fell silent.

Though he was still a greenhorn, barely one foot into the cultivation world,

he could imagine the significance of Liu Yanyan as the sole heir to the Xiangxi Liu family.

For any cultivation family or sect, lineage was more important than life itself!

Mishandling Liu Yanyan could spark conflict between the company and the Liu family.

Though the company, representing the state’s balance of the entire cultivation world,

was far too powerful for any single family to challenge, the implications of this matter could be either minor or major:

On the small scale, Liu Yanyan colluded with Quanxing—she got what she deserved;

but on the large scale, the company would be severing the lineage of an entire cultivation family,

potentially triggering fear and solidarity among other cultivation factions.

“Why not just ask the party involved what she wants?”

Seeing the situation stall, Zhang Jie spoke up.

“Good.”

Xu San also wanted to know if Zhang Jie had a better solution.

Liu Yanyan was now a hot potato.

If she’d joined Quanxing, given the cultivation world’s attitude toward Quanxing demons, even killing her outright

would’ve drawn no protest from the Liu family or other factions.

But she was merely an outsider with no ties to Quanxing—

punish her too harshly and you lose face; too lightly, and you undermine the company’s authority.

What is this?

It was like turning one arrow into two ends to block…

Without delay, Xu San led the way, taking Zhang Jie and Zhang Chulan to the detention area for Liu Yanyan.

It was a room with walls and windows specially reinforced,

ensuring that even cultivators—unless they were masters of major sects—could not break out.

Other facilities were standard, no worse than a normal room—the company didn’t abuse prisoners.

A professional guard escorted Liu Yanyan from her cell to the interrogation room, where Zhang Jie and the others waited.

“What do you want with me, Miss Liu?

If you’ve nothing to say, let me go—I’ve plenty to do.”

Even seated in the specially designed chair, Liu Yanyan stared defiantly at Zhang Jie and the others.

“Liu Yanyan, sole heir of the Xiangxi Liu family…”

Xu San ignored her outburst and took the initiative,

reciting her file with a blank expression.

“You!

I’m telling you, I did everything alone—don’t dare harm my family!”

Liu Yanyan instantly panicked.

“The company would never punish your family, but—

Do you know what the Yirenjie and the company think of the Xingxing demons?

Zhang Jie crossed his arms and asked with interest.

What attitude?

As a greenhorn who had fled her family and had little martial world experience, Liu Yanyan looked utterly bewildered.